Non-linear Responses of a Coastal Aquatic Ecosystem to Large Decreases in Nutrient and Organic Loadings

Between 1991 and 2000, Boston Harbor, a bayestuary in the northeast USA, experienced a decrease in loadings of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and particulate organic carbon (PC) of between ~80% and ~90%. The average concentrations of TN and TP in the harbor water column were decreased i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Estuaries and coasts 2011-07, Vol.34 (4), p.745-757
Main Authors: Taylor, David I., Oviatt, Candace A., Borkman, David G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Aquatic ecology
Aquatic ecosystems
Biological and medical sciences
Bottom water
Brackish water ecosystems
Coastal Sciences
Coasts
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Environment
Environmental Management
Estuaries
Eutrophication
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Harbors
Nitrogen
Nutrient loading
Nutrients
Organic phosphorus
Particulate organic carbon
Particulate organic phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phytoplankton
Primary productivity
River ports
Sediments
Suspended solids
Synecology
Wastewater
Wastewater treatment
Water and Health
Water column
Water resources
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Summary:Between 1991 and 2000, Boston Harbor, a bayestuary in the northeast USA, experienced a decrease in loadings of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and particulate organic carbon (PC) of between ~80% and ~90%. The average concentrations of TN and TP in the harbor water column were decreased in linear proportion to the loadings. The changes to the chlorophyll-a (chl-a), PC, and bottom water DO concentrations were curvilinear relative to the loadings, with larger changes at low than high loadings. For TN and TP, the starts of the decreases in concentrations coincided with the starts of the decreases in loadings. For the three variables that showed curvilinear responses, the starts of the changes lagged by 2 to 3 years the starts of the decreases in TN loadings. Total suspended solid concentrations and water clarity in the harbor were unchanged. The study shows that for systems such as Boston Harbor, decreases in nutrient loadings will have quite different effects depending on the base loadings to the system.
ISSN:1559-2723
1559-2731
DOI:10.1007/s12237-010-9312-3